In the wake of campus tragedies such as the Virginia Tech shootings, students across the nation support concealed guns on college campuses. Texas A&M U. ’s chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus is participating in the Empty Holster Protest this week.
“The Empty Holster Protest is something that is done nationally every year with Students for Concealed Carry on Campus,” said Lisa MacIntyre, a junior psychology major and public relations officer for the A&M chapter. “Basically, it’s to raise awareness for the cause of concealed carry on campus. We’re wanting to get people asking questions that way we can discuss it with them and tell them what we’re all about, what we’re fighting for.”
The A&M chapter of the national organization is expecting about 900 students to be on campus this week with empty holsters. The group serves as the lead organization for the state.
“We have a whole lot of branches on Texas campuses, but ours has been sort of the flagship this year,” said Chase Jennings a sophomore environmental studies major and vice chairman of the organization. “It’s really the leading campus.”
“A&M is leading because the event is more than a protest for the organization,” said Texas State Rifle Association Executive Director Charles Cotton.
“We’ll have tons of flyers and information and officers manning the tables,” said Derek Titus, a senior industrial distribution major and chairman of the organization. “They’ll be answering questions or any concerns that people may have.”
The group plans to use this week as an opportunity to recruit people to their organization and raise awareness about the issue.
“Our plan for the week is to use Empty Holster Protest in order to gain awareness of our organization,” Titus said. “We believe we have a silent majority in that most people agree with us, and don’t know an organization like this exists. We’re really trying to raise awareness and bring a lot of others that agree with our cause to be able to join in and join our cause. Our main focus is sort of recruitment in a way.”
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus supports the ability to carry a concealed weapon onto a college campus if the carrier is licensed. The licensing process requires an individual to undergo training with the weapon, a background check and prove their knowledge of carrying laws.
“Once you do that, you’re allowed to carry in shopping malls, in grocery stores, in businesses all around the state,” MacIntyre said. “We’re trying to draw attention to the fact that there isn’t much of a difference between carrying a gun across the street from the University and then coming onto campus. It’s still the same people, the same people who are licensed to carry everywhere else, who are actually quite law-abiding.”
The Empty Holster Protest is the main event for the organization nationwide and has caught the attention of state legislators.
“It’s obviously been an issue for quite a while now, and it’s really heated these past few years,” Jennings said. “We were about to get the bill passed through the state legislature, through the Senate, and we had the number of votes. It was going to pass. The only reason it didn’t pass is because another bill got filibustered before it.”
This is the third year for the Empty Holster Protest on A&M’s campus and it will continue through Friday.